In its latest attempt to soothe gamers frothing at the mouth for more "Elder Scrolls" and incensed over having to wait another nine months before playing it, Bethesda Softworks today released a new batch of concept art for "The Elder Scrolls 5: Skyrim." There's not much that's new if you've been keeping on top of the latest updates on the game, but it'll hardly matter once you lose yourself in the swirl of otherworldly images.

Right?

No, probably not. But hey, a new look at "Elder Scrolls" is nothing to cry about. "The Elder Scrolls 4: Oblivion" dropped in 2006, a few short months after the launch of the Xbox 360 console. For many early adopters, this was the key "launch" game, the first experience to offer a true glimpse of the promise held in the current generation of gaming consoles.

"Skyrim" moves the action to the world of Tamriel's distant north, the snowy, mountainous landscape that the Nordic people call home. The story opens 200 years after the events of "Oblivion" on a land rocked by civil war following the assassination of its king. At the same time, the god Alduin -- who, incidentally, happens to be a dragon -- has risen to rain an apocalypse down upon the world. Gamers will play the part of one of the last Dovakhiin, or Dragonborn. And as we all know, whenever you're the last of something, a big part of your job is going to be saving the day from wholesale destruction.